Books for Little Kids that I Liked in 2006

Arciniega. Roberto está loco
Roberto the frog thinks he’s the king of Denmark. He wears a raincoat when it’s sunny and he sings to the moon. Yes, Roberto está loco – but he’s also feliz.

Bruel, Nick. Who Is Melvin Bubble?
Author asks Melvin’s parents and friends, as well as his teddy bear, his dog, the monster in his closet, the Tooth Fairy, a talking zebra, and a purportedly magic rock for info on this kid. Good read-aloud for first grade.

Daly, Niki. Papa Lucky’s Shadow
A little girl joins grandpa tap-dancing for change in the city.

DeFelice, Cynthia. One Potato, Two Potato
A poor old couple discover a magic pot in their garden that doubles everything—potatoes, hairpins, candles, even the old couple themselves, leaving them with the perfect friends!

Erlbruch, Wolf. La gran pregunta
Why are we here? To have birthday parties, says the brother. To bark, says the dog. To love life, says death. What do you say? (Pub. Kókinos.)

Frasier, Debra. A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake
Every circle around the Sun equals one. One what? One birthday cake! Point your bowl east to collect the morning sun and then enjoy the year-long search for other delicious ingredients, such as the shadows of geese flying south in the fall and the sound of snowflakes falling. (Butter and sugar come toward the end.) Delightful, poetic and practical: a good gift for any age.

Lasky, Kathryn. Pirate Bob
In simple sentences, describes a day in the life of a pirate named Bob, whose job is to cut the steering cables and cripple the ships he and his shipmates will loot. His best friend is Yellow Jack (who has scurvy) and Bob is kind of curious where YJ has buried his loot, but worries about asking and wrecking the friendship. Gives a feeling of being driven by greed. A verisimilitudinously greedy, piraty tale.

Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Brave and True
Great reader about Ruby, almost 8, Asian-American, living in Seattle, fond of her baby brother, rain, her neighborhood, and performing magic tricks, learns to drive by watching her GungGung (grandpa) and PohPoh (grandma) and drives herself to Chinese School one weekend. Book ends with the advent of her immigrant cousin, Flying Duck, auspiciously wearing lots of reflective tape.

Look, Lenore. Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything
Immigration is hard. Being Smile Buddy for your cousin Flying Duck at school is great but perhaps distracting from schoolwork. Both Ruby and Flying Duck go to summer school, which turns out to be fun, partly because FD, who is deaf, teaches everyone Chinese sign language. Also there are swim lessons and the complicated on-again, off-again friendship with Emma.

Lucas. David. Nutmeg
Delightful tale of a moping family who live in a pile of wreckage near the shore, eating cardboard for breakfast, until the day young Nutmeg conjures up a genie. Her humble wish (for better breakfast fare) turns the family’s lives wonderfully upside down!

Michelson, Richard. Across the Alley
Old-time Brooklyn. A white Jewish boy and a black boy are best friends at night, through their window across the alley, and teach each other to play violin and pitch a baseball.